Collide
by raisingbelle
Summary: It's been over thirty years since the revolution, and Katniss and Peeta haven't spoken to Gale since the end of the war. What happens when life brings the two families together in a way that none of them predicted? Post-Mockingjay
1. Pure Beauty

**Authors Note:** Hey world! I used to write on here a while ago under a different penname, but I wanted a fresh start… well, that and I sort of forgot the password & email. (Smart one, I know). But welcome to my little story, this was all based off one idea – so I have no idea where it's going.

**Plot:** It's been over thirty years since the revolution, and Katniss and Peeta haven't spoken to Gale since the end of the war. What happens when life brings the two families together in a way that none of them predicted? Rated M, because of strong language and themes, later on. Katniss/Peeta's Daughter/OC

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. I don't actually even own the computer I typed this on.

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**Peeta's POV**

**Nineteen Years Ago**

I awoke to the sounds of the birds chirping outside of the window, my hand searching the bed for my wife. Feeling nothing but the empty space, I opened my eyes up and as I stared at the ceiling, I began to work on reminding myself of who I am and everything that has happened over the last few years.

_My name is Peeta Mellark, I'm 32 years old. I competed, and won the 74th annual Hunger Games and was a competitor in the 75th. I was taken by the Capitol during them, and hijacked, my memories distorted and I tried to kill the girl I've always loved. We took part in the rebellion, which eventually lead to the end of the Hunger Games. I married Katniss two years later, and even though our life has been full of rough patches, I can't bear to be away from her. I still meet with Dr. Aurealis because while I may be able to sort my memories, between the real and fake – I'm still taunted by the ghosts of my past. _

_Katniss and I have slowly tried to rebuild our lives here in 12. I reopened the bakery, and she hunts, providing many with fresh game. It took nearly 13 years, but I was finally able to convince her that she would be an amazing mother. And as I watched our baby grow inside her, I knew that I was right, Katniss is definitely the maternal type. She gave birth a few days ago to a precious little one, who we named Agnetha Brea… but we call her little Brea. She looks just like her Mama, but she's got my eyes._

_My life may not ever be perfectly normal, but I know that I'll never be bored._

I sat up slowly in bed, after finishing my little morning ritual. Katniss had told me about it once, years ago, because she used it as a method to remind herself of the good things. I had started to use it as a method of reminding myself what was real and not real. And while for the most part, I was free of the hijacked memories; although they would never completely go away. The nightmares were still there after all this time, but they always got worse if I was away from Katniss.

I shook my head as I stood up and stretched, before turning to smile at my beautiful wife who sat in her rocking chair, nursing the little baby in her arms.

That rocking chair is something else though… Once the place Katniss wouldn't leave, that became something we hid in the basement to finally, a repainted treasure that's Katniss' favorite spot to hold little Brea.

"Good morning, my two favorite girls," I smiled, leaning down to kiss Katniss softly, "And how long have you two been awake?"

"Good morning, honey," Katniss smiled softly, as she adjusted the position of the tiny girl, "Not long, I was trying to not wake you as I got up to feed her."

I chuckled softly, "You weren't the one that woke me this morning, dear. Nor was this little one, I guess you didn't tell the birds of your plan to let me sleep?"

Katniss grinned as she stood up from the chair, "No, I told them alright, but forgot to get it in writing," She laughed, leaning up to give me a kiss, "Now, can you take Brea while I run to the washroom?"

I nodded, arranging my arms to allow to hand me Brea. I leaned down softly, and planted a kiss on her tiny little head, her little eyes looking up at me. And as I looked into the piercing blue eyes of the baby girl – _my _baby girl, I knew that I never wanted any harm to come her way. That I would do everything in my power to protect her, that I would be the father that she deserved.

"I love you, Agnetha Brea."

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**A/N: Sorry its relatively short, I felt that was a good place to stop it for now. Please R&R, and be nice :] It's been quite awhile since I wrote anything that wasn't a paper, haha.**


	2. Great Woods

**Authors Note: **Sorry it took so long to get this up - I was away at a Youth Conference all weekend :] And with today, I figured I'd upload something as a birthday present to myself ^^ Special thanks to my first reviewer **Maureen** and extra special thanks to anyone that has added this to their alerts!

**Disclaimer: **I still own nothing. If I was writing this on my own computer, then I would at least own that.

**Enjoy!**

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**Narrator POV  
****Still 19 years ago**

While Katniss & Peeta welcomed their baby girl in District 12, in another part of Panem, another family was welcoming a baby of their own. A little boy who looked an awful lot like his father, Augustus Silas Hawthorne.

While the Mellarks had worked on recovering after the war, Gale worked to separate himself from everything back in 12. While there was no way to know for sure, if it was the bomb that he designed that killed Prim, or not – the guilt was still there. He had wanted to make things right with Katniss, for things to go back to normal. Gale had still held a small hope, that because of the way Katniss cared for him before, everything would be okay.

He had never been more wrong.

**Gale's POV****  
****33 years ago**

I yawned slightly as I climbed off the train in District 12, exhausted from the sleepless trip from 2. I knew that there was a good chance this trip would be for nothing - but I had to hear it from her. Because until then, frankly I would never be able to believe that I'd lost her to the baker.

A letter from Katniss sat folded up in my pocket, and as I emerged from the train station, I looked for the nearest bench and took a seat, pulling the note out. Unfolding it carefully, I looked down at the words, rereading it, taking in the message that I had already memorized.

_Gale,_  
_I really think that it'll be for the best that you leave me alone. The truth is, no matter what, I don't think that there is anyway for us to salvage any sort of relationship. Even though you say that there is no way to know for sure if it was your parachute that killed Prim - the doubt will ALWAYS be there. And honestly, I don't believe that I'll ever be able to get past that. I think it is in BOTH of our best interests if you move on. This will be the last time that you ever hear from me._  
_Katniss._

I closed my eyes, folding the letter in half. Katniss didn't live far from the train station, but before I saw her, I needed to collect my thoughts. To somehow organize what I wanted to tell her, so that I would maybe have some chance for her to hear me out. I knew that there would be almost no hope for us as a couple - I knew that I had to accept that - but maybe, just maybe, I could salvage some sort of a friendship.

I stood up from the bench slowly, slipping the letter back into my pocket. I began the short walk over to the Victor's Village, home to not only my one-time best friend, but also her mentor, Haymitch, and her b...bboy - I suppose there's no getting around it, I might as well get used to saying it - boyfriend lived. As I continued on my short walk, I couldn't help but take in the sights of the community, once home to so many, now in the process of trying to rebuild and recover. Sure, I had been here once during the war, but at that time, I was too preoccupied to notice anything. I was focused completely on making sure that Katniss was protected, rather than noticing the destruction of my childhood home.

Another thought popped into my head as I walked, a conversation that I once had with Peeta, back during the war. We were camped out in Tigris' shop, one of the first times that we had been able to get any sort of rest in days. Katniss was asleep, and I had awoken in the middle of the night, partially to get a drink, and partially because I was trying to keep an eye on Katniss, to make sure that she hadn't tried to take off in the night, and was actually resting. I was just about to settle back down when I heard Peeta ask for a drink.

I remember nodding, and going over to the sink, pouring Peeta a drink of water and then returning to help him drink it. We weren't friends by any stretch of the word, but weren't enemies either. I knew that he meant a lot to Katniss, and which meant that I had to be nice to him. And even though this conversation didn't happen a long time ago, I honestly couldn't tell you what happened exactly. I do remember one thing clearly, and truthfully, it was probably one of the most hurtful things I ever said about Katniss. I told Peeta, that when it came down to it, Katniss would pick whoever she couldn't survive without.

I have no way of knowing whether or not she may have heard that, but I knew that there was no way I could take it back. I sighed softly, only a few steps away from the door now. I took another deep breath as I reached the wooden door, knocking on the door.

The door opened, revealing the face I had come to see, but not with the scowl that was present on it.

"What are you doing here?" She said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. I could tell already, this was probably not going to end in my favor.

"I came to see you, Catnip," I began, using my pet name for her, hoping it would soften her up. "I needed to see things for myself."

"I told you, I wanted you to leave me alone... Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Gale," Katniss sighed, stepping back from the door, "I'm trying to move on with my life."

"Katniss, we've been friends for too long," I sighed softly, "You know that I never wanted anything to happen to Prim, she was like family to me."

"Gale, you were supposed to PROTECT her!" She yelled, "Instead, she's dead! I'm never going to get my sister back!"

"You don't know that it was the parachutes we designed. The capital -"

"That doesn't matter! There is no way to know for sure, but all that matters is, Prim is dead!" She stops, slumping to the floor as she begins to get upset. I hear footsteps walking down the stairs, figuring it's probably Peeta coming to see what all the commotion is.

"Katniss, I'm so sorry" I begin to try and apologize, as Peeta comes up behind her, "I didn't mean for this to happen..."

Peeta sits on the floor beside Katniss, wrapping his arms around her. "I think you got everything that you needed here, Gale. You need to leave now, and just don't come back."

I nod my head, turning around slowly and walking away.

**End Flashback/Gale POV  
14 Years later****  
**  
It had been a long journeyy to get to this point. Getting over his once strong relationship with Katniss took some time, and Gale threw himself into his work. After the war, he'd been hired by the Capitol to go around and observe the rebuilding of the districts. As part of his duties for the Capitol, Gale had been partnered up with another prior Hunger Games victor, Johanna Mason. What had started off as a business partnership, slowly blossomed into a friendship - and eventually a romance.

It took Gale nearly ten years, but he finally convinced Johanna to marry him, and after almost five years of trying, she got pregnant with twins, and while one of them passed away in-utero, she managed to give birth to a healthy sized baby boy.

When he was younger, this wasn't the way that he had pictured things turning out, he wouldn't trade things for the world.

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**Author's Note: **Sorry if this one seemed to go on for awhile, I was trying to set things up for later. I know Gale was a little OOC, but I have/had a specific image of how I wanted things to go with him. I'll update again soon, but until then leave me some reviews :] It helps motivate me to write a little faster.


	3. Family History

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, I was trying to get it to work out a certain way. Alas, it appears my little plot bunny had a mind of its own. Thanks to anyone that has read and reviewed, you have no idea how awesome it makes me feel!

**Disclaimer:** Well, I don't own anything in the Hunger Games universe… but I at least own the computer this time.

Enjoy!

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**Narrator POV**

**Present day**

In the 19 years since little Brea Mellark, and little Augustus Hawthorne were born, life had continued to grow and change for the two families.

In District 2, two years after Augustus was born, the Hawthornes welcomed two more little ones. A set of fraternal twins, a girl named Brynn Miller and a little boy named, Kaelin Rory. Johanna was a little apprehensive when she found out that she was carrying twins again. The doctor said that there was no reason for her to be concerned, that as long as she was careful not to over-stress or worry, there would be no problems. And while Johanna was not the picture of peace, she did manage to calm down once the doctor told her that one of the babies was a girl.

Once the babies were born, life tried to resume some sort of normalcy in the Hawthorne house. Johanna still had some haunting dreams of the things that had happened, including getting over her terror of the water. It took a few years after the war, before she was finally able to shower without fear. And while she may never be able to submerge herself below the water, she could at least go into the water with the kids. Her nightmares still came from time to time, but once Johanna woke up and reminded herself those days were gone, she could calm down and rest. Becoming a mother was a good thing for her, it caused her to calm down and focus more on something that wasn't herself.

As for her husband, Gale, he still worked hard to make sure that his family was always taken care of. And while he thought of the times that he used spend out hunting in the woods, as the years progressed, he found himself thinking of them less and less. Even though he had once had feelings for Katniss, and maybe even tolerated Peeta to a degree, he knew that there was no going back. Sure, he had a pretty solid marriage to Johanna but sometimes he wondered what things would have been like, if things had been different, but he knew it was for the best. His life in District 2, with his beautiful wife and three amazing children was all that mattered.

As he grew, Augustus - or August as some his friends called him, looked more and more like his father, but acted liked his mother. He was as smart as they came, and the protector of his family. With his graduation, he had been accepted into an elite University that had just opened.. Out of thousands of applicants, only 60 were admitted. August was headed there to study medicine, because he wanted to work in an area where the thing he did mattered.

Brynn and Kaelin were still in high school and couldn't be more different. Brynn was a gifted athlete and could outrun people twice her size, and upon her graduation, she hoped to become a professional athlete. Or maybe a teacher, she still had two years to decide. Kaelin was a little different than his siblings, a little more quiet and thoughtful, with a passion for the arts and music. When he graduated, he wanted to work towards becoming a stylist in the Capitol, where his work would speak louder than he could.

As for the Mellark family, in District 12, life had tried to take some sort of normal balance. Shortly after Brea's fourth birthday, she was joined by a little brother. The new little one who looked so much like his Father, except for his eyes - those matched his mother's. Katniss wanted to name him Peeta Junior, or P.J for short, but his dad wanted none of that. Instead Peeta convinced his wife to name the little boy, Akiva Henry, or as little Brea called him, Kiv.

As the two Mellark children grew and aged, Katniss and Peeta still had the after effects of the Hunger Games, and subsequent war to deal with. They had made an agreement early on, that until the kids were older any discussion of their past involvement in the history of Panem was strictly a need to know thing. When the kids were old enough to understand the story, then they would sit down and tell them.

After the kids had been born, Peeta had started a little bakery near their home. While he had no need to work, Peeta had wanted to continue baking, his one passion from before. The flashbacks from the venom had almost altogether disappeared, but he was still plagued with the nightmares. The ones of watching people die, of losing his family, of forgetting who he was. And in those times when the nightmares happened, Peeta would wake up and remind himself of what was good, while walking around the house and checking on his family.

Katniss on the other hand, had tried the stay at home parent approach. And by the time that Kiv turned two, she found herself itching to go back out and hunt, to enjoy nature again. So, with Peeta's blessing, she found a nanny for the children and Katniss returned to the woods. The game that she brought in, was given to those less fortunate, so that hopefully another family would never have to leave the woods. Like her husband, Katniss still had the nightmares but her coping methods had improved. She would first count the blessings, and then she would sing - the music serving as a reminder of her father.

The younger of the two siblings, Kiv was a bit of a trouble maker. Now while nothing he did was illegal, per say, but he liked to stir the pot. Kiv enjoys sports and nature, and in lot of ways, was like his mother. Brea on the hand, looked like a mini-version of Katniss, but her father, and also her late aunt Prim heavily influenced her behavior. She was smart, and caring with a talent to handle a paintbrush. With her impending graduation, she had applied to University as well, but was unfortunately waitlisted. All Brea could do was wait.

But this isn't the story of Johanna and Gale, or the story Katniss and Peeta's - it's the story of their eldest children, Brea and August.

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**Author's Note: **Sorry if it seemed to drag on, I wanted to establish more about the families, instead of just jumping from the past to the present. Next one will be more exciting, I promise. If you leave with reviews, I'll make you cookies :]


	4. Graduation Part 1

**Author's Note: **Sorry that there always seems to be a couple weeks between chapters... unfortunately, work seems to be messing with my writing life at the present. Hopefully, the second half of this chapter will be up early this week!

**Disclaimer: **While I owned the computer last time, I'm back to owning nothing again

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"Agnethe Brea Mellark - GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM!" The voice of my 14 year old brother, Kiv, came in clearly through the thin oak door, "you aren't the only one who needs to get ready out here!"

I rolled my eyes, smiling softly as I looked in the mirror, "No, but how hard is it for you to give your head a shake, Kiva? I know you haven't brushed your hair in years," I retorted, as I ran a comb through my thick auburn locks.

"Well, why mess with perfection?" I could picture him shaking his overgrown curly mop as he talked.

I began to laugh, "Keep on dreaming there, baby brother." He could talk up his game all he wanted, but when it came to girls, he was no casanova.

"MOM! DAD! Brea's taking forever again," Kiv could yell all he wanted to, he knew as well as I did, our parents weren't home. Dad spent every morning in his little bakery, and unless a major disaster was happening, Mom spent every morning in the woods.

"Agnethe, stopped tormenting your brother," I heard my mother sigh through the door as she entered the hallway, "Akiva quit pestering your sister. She'll be out soon enough, besides it's her special day..." Mom's voice trailed off, and I heard her blow her nose through the door.

_Right, I thought... Today's graduation... I should've known that Mom was going to stick close to home. She seems to be dreading today, although I have no idea why... I thought all Moms loved to watch their little girls graduate. Mind you, my Mom is anything but typical. The thought that I might be leaving here is probably killing her._

"I'll be out in a minute!" I call out, as I begin to braid my hair, "I'm just trying to do my hair like Nana taught me."

"Just hurry up Brea! You aren't the only one who has to get ready still," Kiv sighs, and I hear him slump back against the wall.

I remember one of my teachers mentioning that today was supposed to be a landmark event in our lives. Kind of like how in the past, if your name had gotten called in the reaping. You just had to look your best. And while I usually was a simple tee-shirt and jeans kind of girl, I figured I would do something special with my hair. My grandmother had taught me before she passed away, how to style my hair in sort of fancy braid. This simple updo that if done properly would look so elegant, was a style that Nana had done in Mom's hair a few times. First, on the day of the reaping in which she had volunteered for aunt Prim. Mom didn't like to talk about that much though. Not that I could really blame her. Second was the day that Mom married Dad, a day that was happier than the first.

_Flashback_  
_The day after my 16th Birthday_

"Brea, can I talk to you after we finish closing up the shop?" Dad asked, as he began to wipe down the counters of the shop.

"Um, sure, Dad? Is everything alright?" I replied, closing the lid on some leftover muffins, "I'm not in trouble or something, am I?"  
"No no, nothing like that, sweetheart," My dad sighed softly,the way he usually did when he was trying to get serious. He walked over locking the door, before taking a seat at one of the tables, "Just come have a seat, kiddo. Your mom and I think it's time we told you everything."

"Then where's Mom?" I asked, although I already had a feeling that I knew the answer.

"She thought that I'd be best to tell you everything, because we're closer. But kiddo, I'm going to need you to bear with me, this won't be easy for me," He clenched his hands together, closing his eyes, a simple action but one I knew helped Dad when things got rough. I waited there in silence, not sure what to say until I heard what he said next, "You're related to Katniss Everdeen. Real or not real?"

"Real. Except her name is Katniss Mellark, and I'm your daughter, Brea," I knew this game well, Dad had played it a lot when the games had first ended. Over the years, Mom said that these things started to happen less frequently. Often, we'd go months before Dad had one of his 'flashbacks'. With having to dredge up all those old memories, I should've figured this would have happened.

Dad took another deep breath before continuing, "Now, I know you know bits and pieces of our history. But before I go any farther, I need to know that you aren't going to share this with Kiv. He's too young to know this yet. Promise me that, Brea."

I nodded my head, Kiv was only 11 then, much too young. "I promise, Dad. What you tell me stays in this bakery," I looked over at him as I spoke. For being nearly 50 and for having such a tough life, my Dad didn't look half bad. His hair had some grey spots, and he had few wrinkles, but otherwise, Dad was still a fairly fit man.

"That's my girl. Now, I know you know that Mom and I competed in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, right?" I nodded my head, as Dad continued to speak, "And that we took part in the revolution that lead to the end of the Hunger Games?" Nodding again, not wanting to interrupt, "But there is a whole story of what happened in between that you don't know. Before the Quarter Quell finished, your mother was rescued by District 13 and I was captured by the rebels. We had found out later, that District 12 had been bombed and decimated, so all the residents were moved to 13."

He paused for a moment, clutching his hands again, "While your mother and I were separated, we experienced two very different things. She was in 13, recovering and being paraded around as the Mockingjay - but you learned that in school," Again I nodded, as Dad took a deep breath, "In the Capitol, I was receiving a very different treatment. I was spending hours and hours locked in this cage, and the only time I was allowed out was to be taken to this hospital bed... They would hook me up to this machine and feed Tracker Jacker venom into me, and try to distort the memories I had of your mom... my family, everything, nothing was sacred to the venom. And if for some reason, my vitals dropped,or my heart stopped, they would revive me, and start the whole process again. I remember one time, shortly after our arrival, there was one nurse, who seemed to like me... she warned me before I was supposed to go on camera, that they were going to bomb the ruins of 13... and that your mother was there. I debated not saying anything, because I didn't believe her, but its a lucky thing she did... or your mother, and everyone else wouldn't be here today. I got beat quite terribly though, I don't know how I survived it."

I let out a small gasp, the image of my dad dead shocking to me. My dad sensing this, reached over and took one of my hands, rubbing it softly, "It's okay kiddo... it's all in the past, right?" I nodded again, waiting for him to continue his story. Dad took another breath before continuing, "This cycle continued for a few more days.. I'd get the doses of Tracker Jacker venom, and slowly I was losing everything. I was convinced for the longest time that Katniss wanted to kill me, not that she was protecting me. There was one day,shortly before they usually came to get me for the uh, treatment, when I heard a commotion outside. All of a sudden, I heard my door get busted down, along with the doors of the other captured Victors... and there stood someone who was always near your mother... her old friend, Gale. He came over and grabbed me, and try as I might, I was too weak to put up a fight."

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**Author's note: **I figured that was a good place to split the chapters up. Next one will finish this piece of Brea's story, before going on to a piece of August's and then back and forth. Haven't quite figured out how I'm going to tell them apart yet... Also, if you like this story **please review**, it means so much to me to know people are reading it! (I might even have a contest for the 10th reviewer)

If you sneezed while reading this, bless your face.


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